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An Experimental Study of Negative Performance Feedback: Consideration of a Cognitive Pathway and Individual Difference Factors
No full textNegative performance feedback is relatively common and may be related to negative mental health outcomes, but there is a lack of sufficient experimental research. Further, little is known about the pathway by which effects emerge, or factors that may enhance or attenuate resilience to the effects of negative performance feedback. There is preliminary support for a cognitive pathway through appraisals of falling short of standards, but this specific model remains untested. Likewise, research suggests that perfectionism and positive future thinking may affect resilience in the context of negative performance feedback. The present study was among the first to experimentally test this integrated model. A total of 347 participants were randomly assigned to positive, negative, or neutral performance feedback and reported on perfectionism, positive future thinking, appraisals of falling short of standards, and demoralization. The model was partially supported; negative performance feedback contributed to greater demoralization through the hypothesized pathway of appraisals of falling short of standards. Socially prescribed perfectionism and positive future thinking did not moderate these relationships, but socially prescribed perfectionism did increase risk for appraisals of falling short of standards across feedback conditions. Exploratory analyses indicated that self-oriented perfectionism may increase vulnerability for appraisals of falling short of standards in the context of negative performance feedback. These results suggest compelling directions for future research and begin to clarify trajectories of vulnerability and resilience in the face of negative performance feedback
Evolution of Novice Teachers’ Instructional Visions to Teach Elementary Mathematics: A Longitudinal Collective Case Study
No full textThis longitudinal collective case study is about the transformational experiences of three novice elementary teachers, Tammy, Katie, and Michelle, as they moved from an elementary teacher preparation program, at a large research university in the southeast United States, through their first two years of teaching in different elementary school contexts. Situated within literature pertaining to instructional vision and visions of high-quality mathematics instruction (VHQMI), these cases were used to explore the teachers’ perceptions of their visions of high-quality mathematics instruction and how these perceptions evolve over time. The study design prioritizes novice teacher voices as predominant data sources to elevate their contribution to understanding their experiences within the mathematics education community. Learning from teachers how to best support teachers might inform teacher preparation programs, mathematics teacher educators, Pre-kindergarten–twelfth grade (P–12) schools and teachers working with teacher candidates or novice teachers, and other educational stakeholders. Assertions from this qualitative study point to the importance of developing VHQMI with teacher candidates in teacher preparation programs and with novice teachers through continued professional development and support from colleagues. By understanding how teachers evolve their instructional visions, we can develop more effective mathematics teacher education programs. We can reimagine partnerships between universities and P–12 schools where teachers engage in networking opportunities and have access to expert teaching practices and research. This could increase their desire to stay in the classroom long-term, which could stabilize teacher turnover and thus, advance the equity of access to high quality mathematics education for ALL students
The Applicability of the Postmortem Submersion Interval Estimation Formula for Human Remains Found in Subtropical Aquatic Environments
No full textWithin the past decade, several attempts have been made to standardize a method for estimating postmortem submersion intervals (PMSI); however, the majority of these studies have focused on data from a temperate climate which cannot be taken as representative of large portions of the globe. Thus, there are large portions of the earth in which the methodology from these studies may not be able to accurately estimate PMSI which has the potential to leave investigators in these other climatic zones at a disadvantage. This presentation presents a case study into the applicability of two Total Body Scoring Systems (TADS) utilized for estimating PMSI by Heaton et al. (2010) and van Daalen et al. (2017) for remains found within aquatic environments in subtropical climates. To this aim, data was collected from temporal photographs of cadavers donated to the Institute for Forensic Anthropology and Applied Sciences (IFAAS) that were taken while the donors were placed at the USF Facility for Outdoor Research and Training (USF-FORT) located in Tampa, Florida. The nine donors eligible for this study had been placed in a naturally occurring, freshwater, ephemeral, aquatic environment and allowed to decompose with limited intervention throughout a period of time between July 7th, 2019 to March 15th, 2021 (between 31 to 600 days). From this period of time, a random date, for which photographs were available, was chosen, that fell within a period in which the remains were in a state of active decomposition (between 4 and 31 days), to serve as the date on which the donor would be scored with the TADS systems and would provide a known PMSI with which the estimated PMSI could be compared. The results of this analysis indicate that the Heaton et al. TADS system has a lower degree of interobserver error than the van Daalen et al. system and can estimate PSMI with a high degree of accuracy for remains who are given a TADS score under 20
“Everything Else is Public Relations” How Rural Journalists Draw the Boundary Between Journalism and Public Relations in Rural Communities
No full textRural journalists are news professionals, but also citizens engaged in their communities. The function and purpose of local journalism and public relations have become interdependent as media and communication has become more digital. These relationships create some tensions and it is in this environment that rural journalists make daily choices to cover a story or run prepared content provided by an outside source. Through the lens of boundary work, this study explores how (N = 33) self-identifying rural journalists navigated this gray area and walked the line between creating authentic journalistic content and publishing public relations content. We found that in principle they identified stark boundaries between public relations and rural journalism based on journalistic norms, but in practice these journalists were often put in a position to engage in public relations work to support their communities
GNSI Policy Dialogues: Hunger as a Weapon
No full textFirst GNSI Policy Dialogues Conference
May 24, 2023
University of South Floridahttps://digitalcommons.usf.edu/gnsi_conference/1001/thumbnail.jp
Humanoid Robot Motion Control for Ramps and Stairs
No full textHumanoid robot research and development have been an ongoing effort for many years. Tasks such as humanoid robot walking have been extensively researched, and can be often solved using control theory. In this paper, we explore how a Darwin-Op humanoid robot can autonomously balance and walk on non-flat terrains that include ramps and stairs. We use computer vision to detect the specific type of non-flat terrain based on color. Once the specific terrain has been identified, the humanoid robot computes the distance and orientation that it needs to walk before stopping. We developed the walking model using zero moment point (ZMP) trajectory planning with a cart-table model for the center of mass. We show that the robot is able to walk up the stairs and ramps, and compare experimental results with both stairs and ramps
Transposed Jacobian Control of a Mobile Robot
No full textThis paper describes a method of controlling the position of a differential drive mobile robot. Specifically, the paper addresses the problem of driving some point that is fixed with respect to the robot to a desired location in the work-space. Borrowing from manipulator control theory, a transposed Jacobian control technique is formulated to solve this problem. The transposed Jacobian technique results in generalized control forces rather than actuator voltages, so a transformation is devised based upon the computed-torque technique to obtain the equivalent actuator voltages given these control forces. Additionally, a tuning method for the control that is based upon dominant pole theory is devised. Simulations are the presented that show the capabilities of the controller and the tuning method
Stable Isotopic Investigation of the Hydrological Cycle of West-Central Florida
No full textStable isotopic compositions of oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen were used to identify the sources of water and of organic matter, pathway reactions, evaporation processes, and transfer mechanisms among various water types as well as the extent of water-rock reactions. An attempt to understand the isotopic compositions of the hydrological cycle of west-central Florida, their variations, baseline levels and controlling mechanisms constitutes parts of this dissertation.
A comparison of δ18O in rainwater (weighted mean = -4.4 o/oo) and surficial ground water (mean = -4.1 o/oo) indicates that rainwater recharges the surficial aquifer with only a minor isotopic change. δ18O vs δD plots of rainwater and ground waters suggest that recently recharged water in the upper Floridan aquifer is similar to today\u27s rainwater. As shown by calculations, carbonate aquifers react extensively with the ground waters in the upper Floridan aquifer through time to cause a shift of δ18O from -4.4 to -2.8 o/oo. Changes in δ18O and δ13CDIC in ground waters of the upper Floridan aquifer in two flow paths suggest that the confined nature of the aquifer causes the difference. Parts of the upper Floridan aquifer supply freshwater to rivers discharging into Tampa Bay as evidenced by similarities in δ180 and δ13CDIC of both freshwater types. Evaporation may play a role in shifting the δ18O of rivers from ground-water source of -2.8 o/oo to -2.3 o/oo.
δ18O and δ13C in Tampa-Bay water correlate linearly with salinity. Based on isotopic mass balance calculations, the replacement time of Tampa-Bay water is about 67 days. Mirror Lake has invariant δ18O during a one-year study, and has a calculated replacement time for its water of 43 days
Rethinking In-School Suspension through Restorative Practices
No full textThis self-study focuses on the implementation of restorative practices (RP) with high school students assigned in-school suspension (ISS) for violating school rules. The investigation focuses on the use of two restorative practices (community circles and digital modules) as modes of restoration and behavioral change. Analysis of school disciplinary records and teacher reflections indicate that, overall, students were less likely to be referred to ISS again after completing the RP program and remained invested in meeting their behavioral goals. The success of the program appeared to be rooted in the ways the teacher built trusting, collaborative relationships through community circles and supported students’ development of self-regulatory skills though digital modules. However, for some students, the ability to leverage these assets outside of ISS was mitigated by other teachers’ negative perceptions of the students and their reputations as “troublemakers.” Implications for class- and school-level implementation of RP are discussed
